UK registered logging, mining, gas, and oil companies will be required to report payments made to the governments of all the countries they operate in for financial years from January 1, 2015, the UK government has announced.
The new draft reporting requirements, released August 21, implement Chapter 10 of the EU Accounting Directive, agreed to in June 2013. The regulations also follow a UK Department for Business, Innovation, & Skills consultation which garnered 31 responses. The UK is the first EU country to introduce reporting requirements for extractive companies.
The rules give companies 11 months after the end of their financial year to file a report detailing their government payments, such as taxes, royalties, and fees. Failure to report could subject a firm to criminal penalties.
A one-year transitional arrangement is provided for UK registered subsidiaries of parent companies registered in other EU Member States. During the period, these companies will not be required to file payment information in the UK if they would normally report through a parent company registered in the EU. See, draft statutory instrument, government response to consultation, press release.
